Bitcoin crosses $123,000 ahead of “Crypto Week”

Just in time for “Crypto Week,” bitcoin smashed another record, crossing $123,000 for the first time early on July 14. A year ago, bitcoin was around $60,000 — a 102% jump. Institutional inflows, short squeezes, and regulatory momentum continue to be strong drivers of the rally.

With a $2.42 trillion market cap, bitcoin now surpasses Amazon’s $2.39 trillion market cap. The asset also overtook gold in annual returns, with a 30% annual return, compared to 26.7% for gold.

Crypto ETFs also saw their second-largest week of inflows on record, with $3.7 billion total. Bitcoin ETFs made up the lion’s share, with $2.7 billion, according to CoinShares.  

The House of Representatives declared July 14 will kick off “Crypto Week,” and lawmakers will consider the CLARITY Act and the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which the Senate passed last month. If the GENIUS Act passes, it would be a watershed moment for the crypto industry and could push bitcoin’s price higher.

Nic Puckrin, founder of Coin Bureau, told Sherwood News that this rally is still driven by institutional capital, while the typical signs of a surge in retail involvement — soaring search traffic and crypto app rankings — are absent.

“I don’t see them getting involved in a meaningful way until we get to around $150,000 and the FOMO kicks in,” he said.

Puckrin added that the bitcoin long/short ratio is currently overbalanced in favor of the longs, while 24-hour liquidations are close to $1 billion, so a short-term reversal in the price is almost guaranteed, with liquidations looming at about $118,000.

“Regardless of where we get to before this reversal happens, we’re in for an exciting week in crypto,” he said.